Kepler, seeker of Earth-like exoplanets, is broken – and NASA isn’t sure if it can be fixed

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Back in March of 2009, the Kepler space telescope launched into the universe with the goal of identifying Earth-like, potentially habitable planets. Over the years, it did manage that mission, occasionally finding a planet located in the habitable zone orbiting its star. Now, NASA is reporting that the space telescope is suffering from a detrimental ailment, and might be dead in the proverbial space water.

Less than one month ago, Kepler was flying through space, operating as intended, still making good on its goal. It had a rolling total 2,740 candidate exoplanets detected, spread across 2,046 stars, and a confirmed total of 132 exoplanets that have the potential to support life. In April, it even found three Earth-like planets sitting right in their respective habitable zones. However, during NASA’s weekly communication with Kepler, it found that the space observatory was in safe mode, which is — much like a standard computer — what the probe boots into when something’s amiss.

NASA employs four reaction wheels on Kepler in order for the probe to point in a given direction. A reaction wheel is basically an electrically-driven flywheel, which many spacecraft use for fine rotational control, without needing to consume valuable thruster fuel. The flywheel spins in one direction, and the spacecraft rotates in the other (the law of conservation of angular momentum). Back in July of last year, NASA found that one of the four reaction wheels had failed, but luckily Kepler only needs three working wheels to remain in working order. Unfortunately, as of this week, NASA found that the second of the four reaction wheels was the cause of the probe booting into safe mode. Unless scientists can somehow fix the wheel, Kepler will most likely be done for.

Luckily, NASA has something of a backup plan. The team doesn’t yet know how to right the wronged wheel, but it can put Kepler into what is called Point Rest State, which will use significantly less fuel, allowing Kepler to essentially hang out in space while NASA figures out if there is a solution to the current problem. Without Point Rest State — the software for which was uploaded to Kepler by NASA scientists when they discovered the wheel was broken — Kepler would burn fuel for a handful of months. Now, Kepler could conceivably mosey through space for years. Also luckily, if Kepler is now done for, the mission was still a success, as the space observatory completed its quest last November, and has been on an extended mission ever since. So, if Kepler really is finished, we should all just be thankful it made it this far into the bonus round.

The current plan is to first figure out if the wheel can be fixed, and if not, how useful it would be to have Kepler float through space using a combination of the two remaining wheels and working thrusters. Without three working wheels, Kepler wouldn’t be able to recover its pointing accuracy, but could conceivably be used for other data collection purposes. If there’s anything we can take away from Kepler’s life and the reams of data it collected over the years, it’s that the universe is just full of interesting stuff, and that the next time you’re feeling down that you’re a third wheel, just remember that you might be the reason why everything is running so smoothly.

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VirtualMark

I was reading about this yesterday, it’s a real blow for planet hunters. Sure Kepler was a success, but it isn’t easily replaceable and could have provided many more discoveries. Still, it might be useful for other tasks, like tracking near Earth asteroids.

I wish they’d send up a newer improved model to keep the planet hunting alive, it’s been one of the most interesting fields of science I’ve seen in my life.

My Take

What a waste of taxpayer dollars. If some people are interested in continuing this quest, let them privately fund it.

VirtualMark

The search for another planet like ours is a waste of money? Lol, you cretin.

Science Works

Every dollar spent on NASA results in between $5 to $10 return for our economy. What do you think they’re doing, just launching money out into space? They’re paying private design firms and machine shops. They’re employing some of the brightest scientists and engineers in the country directly. Plus, the new technology they develop (GPS for example) results in immeasurable returns via completely new markets for private companies to exploit.

Spend more on NASA.

My Take

Economic data has clearly demonstrated that regardless of the project the government spends money on, be it roads, welfare, or space, the ROI is perhaps $1.20 at best, and normally less than 1:1.

The thought that government spending returns more to the economy than is spent is an urban myth perpetuated by those that believe government knows better than the private sector.

It is true that, in may cases, government investment in space has helped develop many new and important technologies . . . which were then leveraged by private enterprise. However, to lump all space programs together as if each were contributing equally to the society at large is a significant miscalculation.

With limited resources, priorities and ROI should be considered in decision making for space spending. Looking for habitable planets dozens or hundreds of light years away makes little sense at the current time.

Let’s just wait for them to spend their resources to find us, and then if they feel it necessary, they can travel at ‘warp speed’ to meet us :-)

VirtualMark

It could take millions of years for aliens to contact us – the Earth is 4 billion years old and recorded human history is a few thousand years. And we’ve only had the ability to send radio signals for about a century. That’s a tiny percentage of the Earth’s life.

Plus the fact that we’re moving to digital communications as it offers a way to send a lot more data, but is much harder to detect from another solar system. So if there is life on another planet, the chances are that it’ll be thousands of years behind us or in front of us technologically. Either way, not much chances of it sending signals that we’d be able to detect or interpret.

If we find an Earth like planet now, we could start studying it immediately. Current and future telescopes would be trained on it for years and we could learn if it had life or not. I think it would also inspire a lot of people, knowing that there’s another world out there like ours.

http://twitter.com/AbsGeekNZ Absolutely.Geek

Yea cause those roads were just a complete waste of money….troll!

tachyonzero

I think your a waste of human ROI. I don’t know want mathematical calculations you do and you don’t have any sources to prove it or back up your claim.

ShanKarthic

Every technology or scientific improvement ever done was a waste of money and time, until they were made working and people started using them. We would not be having this discussion in this form if people have not wasted time and money researching electricity. Think of how to justify money on electricity before you have stuff that uses electricity.

So, here is a question for you: can you go to the wild, with no tools but your hands and mouth and no clothes but leaves to cover you from weather and survive for a month?

http://www.facebook.com/alexander.nevrmind.7 Alexander Nevrmind

Amazing comment and ignorant to say the least.

http://www.facebook.com/scott.jackson.77770 Scott Jackson

I understand where My Take is coming from in terms of I think this mission has run its course. As mentioned in the article, the Kepler has already discovered almost 3,000 exoplanets. I think that is plenty of data to work with. Do we really need to spend more tax dollars to discover more planets that we don’t have the technology to be able to get it, or possibly even be able to tell if life exists there? Let’s focus on finding more information about the ones Kepler has found, and use the money for Kepler for something that will be more immediately productive.

VirtualMark

We need to find Earth like planets, I thought that was obvious.

kb-

If they invest in the new technologies that would allow us to travel to other planets, that would change our world and create new markets. Or we can conserve so much that we go back to the 1700s.

Jerry Kraynyk

That is cool. I have mixed feelings on this from a taxpayer p.o.v. If the goal is to find another planet like ours and go there to claim it, there is no guarantee it is vacant. If work continues on the warp drive technology we may be able to travel the universe in maybe 100 years?

Jamie MacDonald

Such a shame to see such a historic piece of technology be left as space junk. I hope NASA find a solution.

sedjak6

I posted this at Centauri Dreams, too; but here’s to some influential engineer doing this:

Its just a thought, and probably pondered to some degree by many,
but why not send a robotic probe(s) to Kepler with a self-contained
reaction wheel(s)/solar panel/sighting/guidance/communications assembly.
It could securely latch on (glue, snakebot, insert wild idea here) in
the most appropriate configuration and without having to hack into
Kepler’s innards, independently correct for the broken reaction wheel.

An actual robot that gets inside the scope and swaps out the part is
probably out of the question. But if the probe at least got on the same
axis as the bad wheel, albeit off-center, it could have a crack at
righting the scope. Unfortunately, missing a few years data would be the downside to any external patch plan.

NASA engineers of the project would be able to say whether you could do
any of this, especially having an independent unit work without some
minimal mating with the scope’s electronics. In any case, one could
even make a contest for this repair mission if, indeed, Kepler is
dead-in-the-water, not re-purposed or fixed. If doable, then perhaps
this mode of repair could keep Kepler going for many years. And I bet
Musk could get a souped-up Falcon out there on the cheap.

Jarred Hudson

The true benefits from science are usually ones that you were not looking for. Looking for life on other planets, and the search for the planets themselves, will develop not only new technology, but new ideas as well. It is these ideas that can molded and shaped into something useful for everyone, not just the scientist that came up with it.

Without investment in the future, there will be no tomorrow to look forward to. Do you really just want to pursue money for the sake of money?

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